English questions

[bradrn]

He didn’t even eat a crumb.
→ Not even a crumb, he ate.
*→ Even a cumb, he didn’t eat.

Fwiw in Dutch these would be fine (as far as a very marked construction is "fine"):
Zelf geen kruimel at hij
Zelfs een kruimel at hij niet

Isn’t zelf a reflexive?

[jal]

Isn’t zelf a reflexive?

Typo, both should be "zelfs".


JAL

[Raphael]

Sports question: Why are the people in charge of preparing sports teams for games and making various kinds of tactical decisions called "managers" in some sports and "coaches" in some others? In the former case, doesn't that lead to them being confused with the people running the organizing or business side of teams?

[Travis B.]

Sports question: Why are the people in charge of preparing sports teams for games and making various kinds of tactical decisions called "managers" in some sports and "coaches" in some others? In the former case, doesn't that lead to them being confused with the people running the organizing or business side of teams?

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

[zompist]

Sports question: Why are the people in charge of preparing sports teams for games and making various kinds of tactical decisions called "managers" in some sports and "coaches" in some others? In the former case, doesn't that lead to them being confused with the people running the organizing or business side of teams?

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

[Travis B.]

Sports question: Why are the people in charge of preparing sports teams for games and making various kinds of tactical decisions called "managers" in some sports and "coaches" in some others? In the former case, doesn't that lead to them being confused with the people running the organizing or business side of teams?

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

Tis true... I didn't keep enough track of baseball, obviously (even though the only major league sports games I have been at have all been baseball games).

[Raphael]

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

True. It was even one of the points in a classic George Carlin skit about how much he loved football and hated baseball. And I'm not sure how long established the use of the term "manager" for people in that position in British soccer is. Didn't they use to be called "coaches" at some point in the past?

[anteallach]

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

True. It was even one of the points in a classic George Carlin skit about how much he loved football and hated baseball. And I'm not sure how long established the use of the term "manager" for people in that position in British soccer is. Didn't they use to be called "coaches" at some point in the past?

Both words are used. I think managers tend to have more responsibility, for example for transfers, than coaches.

[Raphael]

Thank you!

[Travis B.]

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

True. It was even one of the points in a classic George Carlin skit about how much he loved football and hated baseball. And I'm not sure how long established the use of the term "manager" for people in that position in British soccer is. Didn't they use to be called "coaches" at some point in the past?

Both words are used. I think managers tend to have more responsibility, for example for transfers, than coaches.

From checking, in Major League Baseball there is a distinction between the field manager, or 'manager' for short, and the general manager, commonly known as the 'GM'.

[alice]

Surely:

Manager = person
Coach = vehicle

[jal]

Manager = person
Coach = vehicle

Football coach.



JAL

[lëtzeshark]

Surely:

Manager = person
Coach = vehicle

Coach is also how you travel on an airplane if you're not swimming in cash. That said, a coach at least in baseball maybe has more the meaning of an instructor (e.g., a pitching coach or a batting coach).

[jcb]

Sports question: Why are the people in charge of preparing sports teams for games and making various kinds of tactical decisions called "managers" in some sports and "coaches" in some others? In the former case, doesn't that lead to them being confused with the people running the organizing or business side of teams?

American versus British traditions (with soccer...uhm...football being traditionally a British sport)?

I don't think that covers it, since the US has "managers" in baseball and "(head) coaches" in football and basketball.

Furthermore, (American) football has both "coaches" and "general managers", and they don't have the same duties. A coach teaches the team during practices and picks plays during the game, but a general manager is an office job that deals with picking players, negotiating their contracts (although the coach often has a say in this too), and sometimes even helping them deal with the law if they get into legal trouble.

[Raphael]

but a general manager is an office job that deals with picking players, negotiating their contracts (although the coach often has a say in this too), and sometimes even helping them deal with the law if they get into legal trouble.

Yes, that's why, in my initial question, I wondered whether calling people who effectively have a form of coaching duties "managers", which they seem to do in, for instance, baseball, might lead to confusion with people who have more the kind of duties you're talking about there.

[jcb]

but a general manager is an office job that deals with picking players, negotiating their contracts (although the coach often has a say in this too), and sometimes even helping them deal with the law if they get into legal trouble.

Yes, that's why, in my initial question, I wondered whether calling people who effectively have a form of coaching duties "managers", which they seem to do in, for instance, baseball, might lead to confusion with people who have more the kind of duties you're talking about there.

For what it's worth, when I played amateur baseball as a child and teenager, we called the person the "coach". Perhaps it's because at that level of play, there is no office work of signing players and negotiating their salaries.

[Imralu]

Coach is also how you travel on an airplane if you're not swimming in cash.

On an aeroplane, however, it's called economy.

[Raphael]

This is a somewhat political question, but let's hope it doesn't turn this into a political argument.

Suppose that in Australia, there would be an election where the result would be such that the most practical way to form a government would be for the Labor Party to team up with one or more smaller left-wing parties. How would Australians themselves call the result? (Not counting unfriendly words if they're supporters of the other side in politics.) In any other country, something like that would be called a "coalition", but in Australian English that word is apparently already taken as the name of the permanent alliance between the Liberals and the Nationals.

[bradrn]

Suppose that in Australia, there would be an election where the result would be such that the most practical way to form a government would be for the Labor Party to team up with one or more smaller left-wing parties. How would Australians themselves call the result? (Not counting unfriendly words if they're supporters of the other side in politics.) In any other country, something like that would be called a "coalition", but in Australian English that word is apparently already taken as the name of the permanent alliance between the Liberals and the Nationals.

Usually referred to as a ‘minority government’, I think. Unless that only refers to a situation without a formal coalition agreement.

In any case, note that ‘the Coalition‘ has an uppercase C; lowercase ‘coalition’ can refer to anything. It’s similar to how people talk about ‘small-l liberals’, as opposed to the Liberal Party (which isn’t).

[Raphael]

In any case, note that ‘the Coalition‘ has an uppercase C; lowercase ‘coalition’ can refer to anything. It’s similar to how people talk about ‘small-l liberals’, as opposed to the Liberal Party (which isn’t).

Thank you! I was thinking of something involving a formal agreement and executive posts for all participating parties, so it wouldn't really be a minority government.

So there might be headlines like "Coalition fights tooth and nail against proposals introduced by coalition"?